Saturday, April 28, 2007

The ongoing debate around dam removal (which might be justified here), river health and salmon, continues.

To preserve a way of life, coalition wants river to flowPolluted river waters have made American Indian healing rituals unsafe and caused a decline in the salmon population, a crisis that some concerned are asking billionaire Warren Buffet to resolveBy Clea Benson - Bee Capitol BureauPublished 12:00 am PDT Saturday, April 28, 2007

For as long as anyone can remember, medicine men in Northern California's Karuk tribe have bathed as often as 10 times a day in the Klamath River while praying during their renewal ceremonies.

But now, toxic algae blooms caused by stagnant water have polluted their rituals, say tribal members. Last year, one medicine man had to leave his camp in the midst of his prayers to be treated at a hospital for an ear infection, said Chook-Chook Hillman, a Karuk priest who was at the Capitol on Friday.

Members of the Karuk and Yurok tribes and a group of commercial fishermen stopped in Sacramento on their way to Omaha, Neb., to crash billionaire Warren Buffett's annual meeting next Saturday with shareholders of his company, Berkshire Hathaway. They want a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, PacifiCorp, to remove four hydroelectric dams it operates on the Klamath.

This blog is part of the ongoing work of the American River Parkway Preservation Society to provide public education and advocacy around public policy issues that may be related to the Parkway and the adjacent communities along the American River in Sacramento, California.